Education, Training and Careers Services for Koories

These organisations can help young Koorie people and others working with Koorie young people to tap into the networks, resources and opportunities to enhance careers and educational pathways at school and beyond. It can help turn the aspirations and dreams of Koorie youth across Victoria into reality.

See also: TAFE and University Koorie Units

Victorian

Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc - Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc supporting Koorie education and training.

Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Groups (LAECGs) are made up of a broad range of local Koorie community members and at the local level play a significant role in providing the important links between Koorie communities and educational institutions.

Victorian Indigenous Youth Advisory Council - The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria Inc. is the peak body and leading policy advocate on young people's issues in Victoria, which works to developing a Victorian community that values and provides opportunity, participation, justice and equity for all young people

Wurreker strategy - Wurreker is the central strategy for Indigenous vocational education and training policy development and service delivery in Victoria. Wurreker both informs and responds to National and State strategies that relate to Indigenous post-compulsory education and training. For updated information about Wurreker, refer to the VAEAI website News section.

Department of Premier and Cabinet - A Fairer Victoria is the Victorian Government’s social policy action plan, which sets out 85 actions the Government will take within fourteen major strategies to address disadvantage in Victoria

Victorian Catalogue for Indigenous Studies - The Catalogue supports the work of teachers and Koorie Liaison Officers in the delivery of quality, culturally appropriate training and assessment. The catalogue is maintained by the Koori Programs Unit located in the Gunung-Willam-Balluk Learning Centre at Kangan Batman TAFE.

College of Koorie Education - The Victorian P-12 College of Koorie Education (VP-12CKE) is a multi-campus College catering for students from Prep to Year 12. There are four campuses located in Mildura, Morwell (Woolum Bellum), Glenroy and Swan Hill (Payika) - formerly known as the Koorie Open Door Education (KODE) schools. The College aims to achieve quality educational and employment outcomes for all students whilst maintaining, promoting and developing a real focus on and sense of pride in Koorie culture and identity.

Embrace education - A network of volunteers, organised by Monash University offering tutoring support to Koorie young people through Tutoring Support Networks.

Indigital - established to enable young Indigenous people to learn the multimedia skills required to create, tell and record their stories of culture, survival and hope, through music, dance, painting and video on the web and other forms of digital media such as CD Rom, DVD and audio CD.

Wur-cum barra - The Indigenous Employment Strategy of the Victorian Government developed to improve diversity and responsiveness and achieve a greater representation of Indigenous people within all areas and levels of the public sector.

VICNET Aboriginal Page - A comprehensive list of useful sites for anyone who is looking for information on Indigenous peoples - mostly here in Australia, but some elsewhere.

Health and community service careers - Introduces students to the range of occupations in health and community services with information for students, teachers, parents and employers.

National

My Deadly Job - Information for school students about careers in health, including profiles of Indigenous workers.

Australian Sports Commission - Indigenous Sport Program - For young people interested in a career in sport. The focus of this program is on increasing Indigenous participation in organised sport at all levels.

The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) - An organisation dedicated to the development and training of Indigenous performing artists.

Department of Employment and Workplace Relations - Indigenous programs - Information about the range of employment and business assistance for Indigenous Australians.

Job Network - Help job seekers find work. Services include job search and intensive support and the website assists with registering, choosing and finding a Job Network provider.

Jobs Placement, Employment and Training (JPET) - provides one-to-one support for disadvantaged 15 to 21 year olds who are unemployed, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and face personal and social barriers to employment, education or community participation.

Youth Pathways Program - provides 15 to 19 year olds, who have left school without Year 12 and are unemployed, with a way to return to education and training through TAFE and adult community education.

Work Experience Placement Programme - provides an opportunity to observe and participate in the every day activities of a workplace through a non-school based work experience program.

Murra: Guidelines for the Evaluation of Indigenous Content on the world wide web - Guidelines covering three main areas. 1. strategies for finding Indigenous content on the world wide web. 2. five main questions to ask in evaluating the credibility and validity of Indigenous websites. 3. a range of other resources (i.e. those not on the world wide web) which should be accessed in conjunction with materials found on the internet.

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education (NATSIEW) - Provides culturally appropriate interactive education materials for children, teachers, and those interested in Aboriginal education.

National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy - A strategy to achieve English literacy and numeracy for Indigenous students at levels comparable to those achieved by other young Australians

The Black Book - Contains a directory and a library. The directory lists more than 2,700 Indigenous organisations and individuals working across 95 professions in the arts, media and cultural industries, including contact information and a history of individual professional experience and organisational profiles. The library contains 2,000 artistic works by Indigenous people from the late 1890s until now.

Living Black - SBS website about their Indigenous programs and current issues

indigenous.gov.au - Government services for Indigenous people including education, training, culture etc

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) - An institution for information and research about the cultures and lifestyles of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Institute undertakes and encourages scholarly, ethical community-based research; holds a priceless collection of films, photographs, video and audio recordings and the world’s largest collections of printed and other resource materials for Indigenous Studies; and has its own publishing house. Its activities affirm and raise awareness among all Australians, and people of other nations, of the richness and diversity of Australian Indigenous cultures and histories.

Australian Indigenous Doctors Association  A not-for-profit, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation striving for excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, well-being and life outcomes through leadership, partnership and scholarship, in the spirit of cultural integrity.

No Shame Job: booklet on careers in health - A booklet developed to inform Indigenous students about careers in health.

Getting it Right - Publications targeted at employers, Indigenous jobseekers, Indigenous community organisations, Indigenous jobs market, and employment organisations.

Other states

Deadly Bay: Open for Work - An interactive program where Indigenous students can explore and practice skills in a range of tasks required in simulated jobs and roles that have been set in an Indigenous community context. The CDROM (with teacher notes) is available from Australian Training Products.

Working Lives - A DVD series of six short video clips, complimented by audio interviews and learning resources, profiling young Indigenous people from the Kimberley region who have successful careers through Apprenticeships or Traineeships. A useful method of promoting Apprenticeship and Traineeship opportunities, particularly to Indigenous people. The DVD was produced by Goolarri Media. For copies of the DVDs, contact David Knight at david.knight2@det.wa.edu.au.

Deadly pathways - Deadly pathways - a website for Aboriginal young people and Torres Strait Islander young people to tap into networks, resources and opportunities for careers and educational pathways.

Aboriginal Career Aspirations Program (ACAP) - A career awareness and education program designed specifically for Indigenous students. It contains three booklets: Teacher Handbook, Worksheets and Units of Work. The projects in the kit have been designed for Indigenous students in Years 7–10, however the program could be used with a broader range of ages.

Indigenous Psychological Services - A company founded by Dr Tracy Westerman, an Indigenous Psychologist originally from the Northwest of Western Australia. IPS was developed to address the inadequacies that exist regarding the levels of access that Indigenous people have to psychological services.

Other useful websites and resources

Dust Echoes  - A collection of twelve aboriginal dreamtime stories collected from the Wugularr (Beswick) Community in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Recorded as audio and then interpreted as short animated movies, these stories are designed to educate and entertain young people in order to instill a respect and thirst for the wealth of indigenous culture and stories on our door step. The accompanying Study Guide features a range of upper-primary and lower-secondary educational materials for teachers and students, including classroom activities that explore themes such as the diverse landscape of the Northern Territory, the Aboriginal moiety and kinship systems, Indigenous spiritual beliefs, power and responsibility in the community, safety and survival in the bush, and Indigenous ceremonies and traditional art and craft techniques.

Indigenous heritage - Indigenous issues relevant under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, with an overview and links to laws relevant to Indigenous heritage.

Indigenous Justice in Australia - The Indigenous justice section of the Australian Institute of Criminology website.

ANTaR Queensland Online - ANTaR is committed to the rights and perspectives of Indigenous peoples to determine their own future with the support of the Australian People. They are committed to Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians through education and advocacy conducted in parallel with Indigenous organisations.

Aboriginal Literature - Books and other resources by Aboriginal authors, particularly those from Western Australia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library and Information Resource Network (ATSILIRN) - A support and information network for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people working in libraries and for those people servicing the information needs of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples.

AIATSIS–Native Title Research Unit Collections - Information about the native title resources held in the Library and the Audiovisual Archives.

National Native Title Tribunal Home - The tribunal works with people to develop an understanding of native title and reach enduring native title and related outcomes that recognise everyone's rights and interests in land and waters.

CERN/ANU Aboriginal Studies - A list with links to Aboriginal Studies on the Net.

Indigenous Land Corporation - The ILC assists Indigenous Australians to acquire land and manage Indigenous-held land sustainably, to provide cultural, social, economic or environmental benefits for themselves and future generations.

Center for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research (CAEPR) - The Australian National University Centre’s mission is to contribute to better outcomes for Indigenous Australians by informing constructive academic and public debates based on innovative research; analysing changes in Indigenous socio-economic status; and informing and influencing policy formation.

Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet - A web resource that makes knowledge and information on Indigenous health easily accessible to inform practice and policy.

ABSITES - A listing of Australian Indigenous websites

World Indigenous education and careers services

Aboriginal Canada Portal - Links to Canadian Aboriginal on-line resources, contacts, information, and government programs and services.

Guiding Circles - Canadian career counselling program developed by and for the Innuit people of Canada. Also being used extensively in Western Australia.

Careers Services Rapuara - The New Zealand government careers service has lots of information to help Maori students and adults with jobs, training and career decision making.

Waitangi Tribunal - Established in New Zealand in1975, the Tribunal is a permanent commission of inquiry making recommendations on claims brought by Maori relating to actions or omissions of the Crown that breach the promises made in the Treaty of Waitangi. There is a resource section with information for schools.

Aboriginal Links  - World-wide Indigenous people's links.

World Wide Web Virtual Library: Indigenous Studies - The Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS) and the Chief George Manuel Library support and contribute to the development and maintenance of the World Wide Web Virtual Library. This site is maintained in conjunction with the Australian National University's Aboriginal Studies WWW Virtual Library, containing links to Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander resources, and the Circumpolar WWW Virtual Library containing links to Circumpolar Indigenous resources.

Best Practices On Indigenous Knowledge - Database including a definition of Indigenous knowledge, and a Registry of best practices that gives numerous detailed summaries of projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America that have sought to improve conditions and alleviate poverty through the successful employment of Indigenous knowledge.

Center for World Indigenous Studies - US-based research and education organisation, providing access to Indigenous people’s knowledge and ideas, conflict resolution and protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples.